Town Square

Residential burglaries hit five-year high

Original post made
on Sep 11, 2012

Home burglaries in Palo Alto have jumped by 56 percent in 2012, according to a Palo Alto Police Department crime-analysis report. The analysis, which was released to concerned residents on Tuesday, Sept. 11, identified 151 burglaries from Jan. 1 through Sept. 10 this year, compared to 97 for the same time period in 2011.

Posted by Catch the bad guys
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Sep 12, 2012 at 8:41 am

Police statements frequently blame the victim..."lock it or lose it"...or homes are not "properly secured." This is an alarming rise in crime and dealing with it should be the police's absolute top priority.

I support the city installing neighborhood cameras. It's a big help with crime fighting. Residents should install home security camera systems. They are becoming less expensive. You can view your home remotely from the internet.

Posted by Wilson
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Sep 12, 2012 at 8:49 am

Home surveillance systems are very inexpensive, and these days these systems offer the home owner video access to his/her premises via an Internet connection.

It makes little sense for the police to continue this silly lock it or lose it silliness, and begin to recommend that people spend some time ad money upgrading their home's ability to at least monitor itself. The police can only do so much, so it's time we, as residents, start doing out part in helping ourselves.

Posted by Joinpa
a resident of Community Center
on Sep 12, 2012 at 10:47 am

I don't think the police are blaming the victim, just stating the facts. Burglars are primarily getting into homes that have easy access - unlocked doors and windows. They have been consistent with this message. I lock everything, have a dog and turn on the alarm.

I know it is scary but we have to be diligent and consistent. We have to train ourselves to protect our home and work on prevention.

Posted by Aquamarine
a resident of Stanford
on Sep 12, 2012 at 11:12 am

It's a combo. The police have their own political agenda. But people ARE asking to be victims if they don't lock up, from the perspective of crime prevention. It sounds like that happens in a lot of these cases.

Posted by stretch
a resident of another community
on Sep 12, 2012 at 11:38 am

There aresteps that can be taken, such as the one suggested in the story: parking extra cars in the driveway of someone who is on vacation. Also, tell your neighbors when you will be gone, have lights that come on through timers, maybe even a recording of a dog barking for those who don't have dogs, leave a radio on, cut bushes that give cover to someone entering through windows, porch lights that detect movement (tied to the barking dog recording?), etc. Neighbors sre especially helpful, though. In my neighborhood, people watch out for each other, call to check on someone, get worriedthenew resident didn't tell anyone that she was leaving for a few days and nobody saw her, definitely keep an eye on strangers roaming around and pick up newspapers lying in driveways.

Anyone with a prior record that can be looked up by anyone with $20 and and internet connection automatically screens all of these people out of the job market, unless the y have family or friends who will employ them. I am not condoning thieves in any shape or form, but suggesting they just need to "get jobs" is failing to understand the magnitude of the problem.
Thanks for the link Rajiv.

Posted by Tired of PAPD games
a resident of Duveneck/St. Francis
on Sep 12, 2012 at 9:29 pm

We need to place police in the neighborhood and ask them to focus on burglars and not harassing the neighbors they are there to protect.

Where is the police chiefs plan?
Where is the mayor's plan?

Forget the new police station and vote against any of the council members who support it.
Put the police on the streets to protect and serve.
Do they still believe in protecting and serving or is their "moral problem" too much for them to get over?

Posted by Enough!
a resident of Charleston Gardens
on Sep 13, 2012 at 11:27 am

Perhaps landlords should consider allowing people to have dogs. They can ask for an additional deposit and require the tenant to carry renter's insurance. Why do people always blame the cops? Why not blame the losers who do the crimes? Regardless of the economy, there are a lot of people out there who feel they are entitled to possess the property of others.

Posted by Enough!
a resident of Charleston Gardens
on Sep 13, 2012 at 1:32 pm

David, don't know how long you've been living in this City, or heck, any city in the vicinity, but people have a tendency to blame the cops when crime rates rise. There is only so much the police can do, the rest is personal responsibility, vigilance and luck.

Posted by anthony
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Sep 14, 2012 at 5:35 am

why is this surprising? Our state has allowed illegal aliens in without any background checks whatsoever. Whatever your stance on immigration you have to know that allowing half a million people into any state without jobs or true means of support will undoubtedly result in a major crime increase. No country, state or city can withstand an onslaught of illegal immigration without some checks in place, we have none!

Just on the comment "can everyone get a dog …" I think this neighbor should get a Glock & knife and stand vigilant 24hrs. Sending a dog to do your job is not fair. You should be the first line of defense then the dog to cover your back!
Short term the police needs to do more patrolling, long term the society needs to create more jobs & opportunities.

The number of home burglaries traditionally spike in the summer months. I think that light timers and Fake TV (www.faketv.com) are excellent solutions to deter burglars. Also, playing anti-theft home occupancy sounds MP3 or a CD (sells on Amazon or at Web Link ) in home while away is a great way to trick burglar that someone is in.

The number of home burglaries traditionally spike in the summer months. I think that light timers and Fake TV (www.faketv.com) are excellent solutions to deter burglars. Also, playing anti-theft home occupancy sounds MP3 or a CD (sells on Amazon or at Web Link ) in home while away is a great way to scare burglar that someone is in.

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